


The Future Is Strange

by Luciferlives



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Arcadia Bay, F/F, Feels Like Destiny, Fix-It of Sorts, My First Fanfic, My First Public Work, Post-Canon, Post-Game(s), Sacrifice Arcadia Bay Ending, Time Travel, bae over bay, pricefield
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-07-11 08:42:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7041223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luciferlives/pseuds/Luciferlives
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You know Caulfield if you want to see me naked so bad you could just ask.” She said huskily with that shit eating grin of hers.<br/>“You’d like that wouldn’t you Che” She worked up the courage to say, but looked anywhere but her best friend.<br/>Chloe leaned up into the truck and loomed over her placing a finger under Max’s chin and forced her to look up at her. Max could feel her hot breath on her face. “I can think of a lot of things I’d like you to do” She whispered with her smug grin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where Do You Go When Home Isn't Home

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first shot at ever writing a fanfic of any kind and also the first time I am posting any of my work publicly. I'm pretty scared about it honestly and I don't know if ill stick with it, but maybe if it turns out people are actually interested I'll keep trying. This had only been proofread once so it's very possible that mistakes were missed and for that i apologize in advance. Feedback is appreciated, but please keep in mind that this is my first attempt at any of this so be kind

They drove all night after the storm. Got as far away from the destruction as they could before Max could tell Chloe couldn’t drive any longer. “Che” Max started in a soft tone “We really need to call it for the night, we don’t even know where we are going and you are practically a zombie at this point.” Chloe had opened her mouth to protest, but seemed to have lost the energy to form the words. The truck chugged and sputtered to a stop at the side of the dark rural highway they had been on for miles. As the key left the ignition the lights slowly faded away and allowed the night to bleed through them. Max could hardly hear her breathing over the sound of the rain hitting the metal roof above us. That slow comforting sound of her presence could almost make Max light headed. 

“Uh Max?” Chloe’s words pierced the silence as Max heard her shifting on the bench seat next to her. “You’re going to have to make some fuckin’ room for me to lay down here. If I have to keep my legs folded up like that any longer I’m going to lose my shit.” 

“Oh, yeah sorry, my mind wondered off.” Max nervously said before shifting herself carefully to lay on her side. Chloe laid down next to her on the bench seat of the truck. This was the first time she became aware that they haven’t been this close to one another since the morning after they went for a swim. She could feel Chloe’s breath on her face now and she couldn’t help but shiver.

“You cold?” Chloe asked quietly. 

She didn’t even have time to answer before Chloe pressed herself against her and wrapped her arms around her.  
_Keep it together Max_  
Max buried her face in Chloe’s shoulder and attempted to sleep. The sound of her best friends breathing and the smell of the cigarettes and salt quickly lulled her to sleep, but they couldn’t keep her nightmares away. She woke up time after time to choke back tears until sleep took over her again. However, it wasn’t a nightmare that woke her up that morning, but instead an odd feeling that she hadn’t felt before. As she started to collect her thoughts she realized what that sensation was. As she opened her eyes she found out just what the feeling was. Chloe, who was still laying next to her, had her leg wedged between Max’s thighs and her hand under Max’s shirt pressed to her bare stomach. 

_I can think if a lot of worse things to wake up to._  
Unsure of what to do she just blankly stared at the sleeping Chloe next to her. She looked so peaceful while she slept.  
_I could lay like this forever_  
However, Chloe began to stir next to Max before dragging her hand slowly across her bare stomach. Max sucked in a deep breath and shivered again. Chloe rubbed the sleep from her eyes and slowly opened then.  
“Morning Che” Max choked out.  
Chloe groaned and buried her head into her best friend’s neck “Can we sleep awhile longer?” she asked.  
Max giggled and shook her head slightly “as much as I wish we could we really should get up and come up with a plan.”  
The next thing she knew she was on her back and Chloe was looking down at her with her signature grin.  
“You’re lucky you’re so god damn cute Caulfield” she said as she stared down at Max intently.  
She felt my face heat up and could only imagine how badly she had to be blushing at this point. She opened my mouth and then closed it once again trying to think of a clever response, but was met by Chloe’s laughter. 

“You’re too easy Maxi-pad.” She said before sliding off of Max.

The friction of her jeans against her was distracting and she hardly noticed the door had been opened until Chloe slammed it shut behind her after she slid out. Her gaze followed Chloe as she reached into the bed of the truck and grabbed a duffle bag of clothes. Watching as she pulled out a black tank top and her usual pair of ripped jeans and quickly began to strip off the clothes she was currently wearing. Max couldn’t help but stare until Chloe noticed her. Her eyes quickly darted down to her lap to avoid eye contact, but it was too late. Chloe made her way back to the door and had pulled it open. 

“You know Caulfield if you want to see me naked so bad you could just ask.” She said huskily with that shit eating grin of hers. 

“You’d like that wouldn’t you Che” She worked up the courage to say, but looked anywhere but her best friend. 

Chloe leaned up into the truck and loomed over her placing a finger under Max’s chin and forced her to look up at her. Max could feel her hot breath on her face. “I can think of a lot of things I’d like you to do” She whispered with her smug grin.  
Max sucked in a sharp breath and held it as Chloe closed more distance between them, but she was gone just as soon as she had gotten there erupting into a fit of laughter. “What’s so funny?” Max asked in a weak tone.

“You. You’re just too easy.” Chloe responded before grabbing a flannel and a pair of ripped jeans from the bag and tossed them at Max “Get out here and get dressed Hippie” 

Max grabbed them and slowly slid out of the truck turning her back to Chloe. Reluctantly she pealed her shirt over her head. She could feel eyes on her, burning into her back. Max unbuttoned her jeans and quickly slid them off quickly replacing them with the new pair so she wouldn’t be so exposed for long. The new shirt soon followed, but it was kinda big on her and the jeans were a little long clearly belonging to Chloe. When she turned around Chloe was just standing there with that same smirk staring at Max wiggling her eyebrows. Max rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly. “Let’s get going you perv.” 

Chloe chuckled, rounded the truck and got in the driver’s seat. Soon they were driving down the rural highway again. They drove for an hour or two before we stopped to get some breakfast at a run-down truck stop. Apart from two old truckers watching the news on an old TV the place was deserted. So there they were, sitting in a booth at a truck stop in a town we have never heard of as if it’s normal. Chloe is wolfing down her food like it could be her last meal, but Max can hardly bring herself to eat. A few bites here and there are all she can stomach before she heard Chloe speak up.

“Yo Earth to Mad Max. Come in Max.”

Max looked up from her plate and grumbled an apology with the most conviction she could muster, but it wasn’t enough. They fall into silence for a moment before Max speaks “Chloe….Do you think anyone made it through that storm?” Chloe looked at her for a moment before sliding out of her booth and sliding in beside Max. She wrapped her arm around Max’s shoulders and studied her for a moment. Max couldn’t quite read her expression for the first time in what felt like forever.  
Chloe finally answered “Have you turned your phone on yet?” 

She avoided the question, but Max couldn’t blame her. She knew Chloe had to be wondering if Joyce had made it through the storm by now. She dug her phone out of her pocket and looked at Chloe for a moment before holding the power button. As it light up and reached the home screen it began to endlessly ding as messages and notifications flowed in. Missed call after missed call from her parents flooded to her notifications screen. She knew she needed to call and let them know that she was as okay as she could be and that she wasn’t alone regardless of how much she really didn’t want to try and explain any of it to them. She squeezed past Chloe to leave the booth and exit the truck stop. As she made the call Chloe could see her pacing back and forth past the glass door. The first few minutes seemed to go well from her view other than a few tears that feel from her best friends beautiful eyes, but her expression began to sour. Max began to gesture with her free hand and Chloe was sure she could see her hands tremble.  
Chloe got to her free and dug money for their meals out and dropped it on the table before making her way out of the truck stop. Max could see her approaching and hung up the phone to end the argument.

“What’s up Maximo? Are your parents alright?” Chloe asked.  
Max sighed and shook her head “They gave me a week to get home.”

Chloe swore she could feel her heart hit the ground it sank so far. Soon Max was being consumed by her best friend’s arms and pulled in tightly. She held on just as tightly as she buried her head into Chloe’s chest. “I won’t go Che. I’m already home” she said, but it came out muffled by Chloe’s warm skin. Chloe pushed her away and looked down at her with a questioning look, the pain in her eyes was plenty visible. “You’re my partner in crime Chloe. Home isn’t home without you anymore. Besides, you said I’m your partner in time. Time never leaves us even if it does move backwards sometimes.” She said softly. That’s when she knew that she was in over her head. She was, in fact, in love with a beautiful ghost from her past.


	2. Fragile Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm finally uploading a new chapter for this fic and I really hope you guys enjoy it. It isn't beta'd or anything and its been rewritten so many times It probably has some errors here and there, but if you spot any just point them out and I'll be sure to fix them!

Max recommended they go towards Los Angeles so Chloe could see it before they decided where they would settle. They ended up camping out in the Mojave Desert somewhere near Lancaster. They had been sleeping in the truck for the last 2 nights down a back road into the desert and made a trip into the city during the day if they were feeling up to it to get supplies. Chloe was happy with it because Lancaster was only about 70 miles down the highway from down town LA. She couldn’t wait to go back into the city again after driving through it. Max had since been running out a steam as news spilled out about what happened in their little town on the bay and the many people lost during the storm. As they laid in the bed of the truck staring out at the stars above them Max spoke up.

“Are you sure you want to do this Che?” She said quietly as if she might disturb the silence of the desert around them. 

Chloe rolled onto her side to face Max and studied her for a moment before opening her mouth to speak. “What do mean?” she asked. 

Max shook her head and spoke up “I mean just the two of us? Do you think we can make it out here after everything that’s happened?”

Chloe laid silently for a moment as if she was mulling over the question, what she could say that would drive away Max’s doubts. “Maximus we just used time travel to solve a missing persons case and found her killer. If we can handle that we can handle anything.” 

Max shrugged as if she wasn’t convinced, but knew deep down that there was very little that could really make her feel better at the time.

Chloe spoke up again “Are you sure you want to do this? You could always go home and finish school you know.” She said half-heartedly, willing herself to believe that she was okay with this option.

Max scoffed “Yeah right! Who knows what kind of trouble you would get in without me!” She said as she looked over at her best friend with a wide smile.

Chloe chuckled “Oh, you know just the usual. Blackmailing murderous rich kids and waving a gun at drug dealers probably.”

The two of them fell back into silence, Max looking at the stars above them and Chloe looking at Max as if she was better than any star ever could be. Max fell asleep first, tossing and turning with every dream and nightmare alike. Despite her best efforts to fight off sleep Chloe followed soon after.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The next morning Max woke up first, as she normally did, to the bright hot sun raising on them. She sat up and let out a yawn before glancing at her sleeping companion. Max couldn’t help but admire her as the sun reflected off of her porcelain skin. Her blue hair against the yellow truck and the faded yellow blending into the sprawling desert around them. Max carefully fetched her camera from the duffle bag that rested above them and climbed onto the roof of the old truck. She laid down with the camera and shuffled back and forth until she got the perfect angle. Chloe fast asleep in the bed of the truck amongst the vast desert and sun raising in the horizon, Max decided that this was her new ‘golden hour’. As the camera whirred and clicked Chloe broke the silence.

“Caulfield I swear if you just took a picture of me” she threatened as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “What are you even doing awake so early?” she asked.

Max slid off of the roof and back into the bed of the truck before settling in next to Chloe. She leaned against her and held out the photo in front of them “Taking advantage of the view” she stated.

Chloe shook her head “If you’re trying to take advantage of me shouldn’t you at least buy me a couple of drinks first?” She said jokingly with a raised eyebrow. Chloe kept her eyes glue to the Polaroid in front of her. She wanted to compliment it, tell Max how absolutely breathtaking it was, how beautiful her mind was. The talent Max had never stopped amazing Chloe and seeing her work was one of the few things that could truly take her breath away. 

Max rolled her eyes “You’re horrible Che.” Max nudged her and made her way out of the truck bed “Now can we go get a bite to eat somewhere? I’m starving.”

Chloe stretched her arms up over her head and let out a short groan before getting to her feet and out of the bed of the truck, pulling open the old rusty car door. Soon they were driving down the now familiar dusty road back out of the desert. Max had her feet propped up on the dashboard of the truck and her head leaning against the window as she watched the scenery pass by. Chloe found herself glancing over at her often, a smile creeping across her face. Seeing Max look so content gave Chloe some peace of mind, regardless of the fact that she was sure it would be short lived. In three days they would either have to head to Portland and follow her parent’s demands or Max was going to have to deal with whatever consequences came from refusing to do so. She tried not to think about it much, but it scared her not knowing what Max’s parents had in mind. She couldn’t imagine being away from Max after everything that had happened in the last few weeks.

They pulled up at a gas station and Chloe parked at one of the old gas pumps “I’ll go pay the guy for gas and I’ll grab us something to eat if you’re down to pump the gas.” She said as she took the keys out of the ignition and swung open her door.

“Yeah that’s fine, but you better get me something good this time Price!” She said with a smile as she jumped out of the truck.

_Could she really be any more perfect?_

Chloe smirked “Oh I’ll make sure you get something good” she blurted out before giving a wink and jogging into the gas station. 

Max rolled her eyes and leaned against the truck as she waited for the gas pump to kick on. She and Chloe had been doing this sort of thing since the day Chloe gave her that dare. They flirt back and forth, mostly Chloe making suggestive comments. Max wanted to flirt back, but Chloe had a way of turning Max into a flustered ball of nervousness. She had no idea where it left them. Was is just a fun little game that they were playing or did the relationship between them really change that day? Max couldn’t get it out of her head. The gas pump in front of her started to illuminate the gas options urging her to fill up the truck. Soon after she started Chloe came bounding out of the gas station with an armful of junk food and a bag of chips hanging out of her mouth. She pulled the truck door open and dropped everything onto the seat. 

“I got us breakfast sandwiches and a shit ton of snack food.” She said as she shut the truck door “It’s going to rain tonight though so we might want to find a cheap hotel for the night. Oh and dude I talked to the cashier and I think I found a pretty rad way to meet people in the area” She added with a shit eating grin that said she was definitely plotting something. 

The two of them got back into the truck and began to eat the now hardly warm breakfast sandwiches while Chloe told Max about a sort of party she had heard about between bites. Max found herself zoned out and staring at Chloe. He pale white porcelain skin made Max want to reach out and touch her, to be touching her whenever she possibly could be. Her fading blue hair covered by a backwards snapback they got along the way was just as mesmerizing as always, but her eyes were by far the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. No sunrise or sunset could hold a candle to the way Chloe’s blue eyes sparkled with excitement or how stormy they became when she was feeling down. 

_I guess the eyes really are the window to the soul_

“Hello! Earth to Maxi pad are we going or not?” Chloe said much louder than necessary snapping Max out of her trance.

“Uhh…yeah totally I’m so ready!” Max forced out, quickly realizing that she had no idea what she just agreed to. She didn’t really need to though, she knew that she would follow Chloe to wherever she wanted to go that night as long as she got to see her smile. Chloe was probably hurting a lot more than she was letting on, Max found herself worrying more about her sometimes than she did herself.

_Wowser when did this get so cheesy_

Chloe had left out a little detail though, it was less so a party, and more so a rave in some warehouse. What Max was going to soon realize was that Chloe had full intention of taking part in what the rave had to offer, drugs and alcohol included.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I honestly wasn't really satisfied with this chapter which is why I took so insanely long to post it. After rewriting it so many times i finally decided not to dwell on it much more and to move on with the story itself. That being said as I continue my first ever published fanfiction I'd love to hear constructive criticism and suggestions, just be sure to keep them in a somewhat kind tone. Don't break me lol
> 
> P.S. I have started working on the 3rd chapter and plan to update soon if anyone is interested


	3. Hell I Need

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Here's a new chapter for those of you following the story. Its nearly twice as long as the previous chapters and I'm posting it sooner than expected. I'm going to try and find a regular schedule for updates, but I'm going to be in and out of town and state in the next 2-3 weeks so I wanted to give you guys something to hold over until I figure out when the next one will be posted. I didn't end up including as much as I had hoped in this chapter, but some things may appear later on in the story. So here it is unbeta'd, but I hope you enjoy!

Chloe pulled into the parking lot of a cheap motel and parked the rusty dust covered truck before excitedly bouncing out of the driver’s side door. She practically ran into the lobby to get a room before coming back out to get their bags and Max. 

“Maximus! Come on we gotta get ready for tonight!” Chloe exclaimed eagerly as she pulled their bags out of the bed of the truck. “Good news, we are on the first floor so we don’t have to haul this shit up the stairs” She added as Max got out of the car with a yawn. Chloe grabbed most of the bags and did most of the heavy lifting as they made their way to the motel room. As they got into their room Chloe let out a loud sigh as she dropped their bags “Thank god they have air conditioning.” She said as she stood in front of the air vent. Max wondered farther into the room and eyed the single bed. It all looked clean despite what she had expected to see in the run down cheap motel. She flopped down on the bed and gave a wide smile.

“This bed feels like a cloud compared to sleeping in the bed of the truck.” Max said gleefully. 

Chloe walked over and flopped down next to her, propping her head up on one arm to look at her “Hey don’t hate on the truck. She gets the job done.” 

“I can think of better ways to get the job done Che.” Max responded.

Chloe shook her head and gave a devilish grin “Alright that’s it, you dissed the truck and must suffer the consequences!” She said as she rolled over and pinned Max down, tickling her sides mercilessly.

Max shrieked and flailed in an attempt to break free amongst fits of laughter. After multiple failed attempts at escaping Max was clearly out of breath. Chloe showed her mercy and stopped tickling her, but didn’t yet move from her position above the girl. Max gazed up at her sparkling blue eyes and suddenly found herself breathless for another reason. She made the mistake at glancing down at Chloe’s lips for half a second too long, knowing immediately that she hadn’t been subtle while doing so as the girl above her gave a toothy sharp grin like the Cheshire cat.

“See something you like Maximus?” Chloe asked in her classic flirting tone as she wiggled her eyebrows. 

“N-No! I J-Just…” Max’s face flushed red as she looked anywhere but the girl above her. Chloe let out a snicker before pushing herself up off of both Max and the bed. 

“You’re adorable when you’re flustered” Chloe stated with a smirk before making her way into the bathroom “Anyway, I’m gonna take a shower” she added soon afterward. 

“Yeah you are starting to smell pretty bad.” Max joked as she sat up. 

Chloe turned and gave Max a challenging look “And yet I still can’t keep you off of me at night” she shot back before swiftly shutting the bathroom door. 

Max’s face turned an even brighter shade of red as she thought over the comment. She had always been the cuddly type, with the nightmares and the added affection towards Chloe, Max couldn’t seem to help herself when they settled in at night. Chloe lately was her only sense of normalcy, and even more so her sense of comfort. As the shower water turned on with a hiss Max found it best to turn on the TV to avoid dwelling on the thought. She flipped through stations, but little was playing on the extremely fuzzy cable. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed until Chloe staggered out of the bathroom in a towel and started rifling through the duffle bag of clothes. Max swallowed and attempted to lock her gaze onto the fuzzy TV. 

_Don’t look, don’t even think about it._

“Hello earth to hippy! It’s your turn Maxi-pad.” Chloe said breaking Max’s focus.

Max wondered how much she had said while she was zoned out due to the annoyance in her voice. Chloe was dressed now in a pair of jeans so ripped up you really couldn’t call them jeans anymore and a T shirt with the sides cut out hanging loosely around her abdomen. 

Max pushed herself off of the bed and slowly made her way into the bathroom for her own shower and to get ready soon after for whatever the night held for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hours later, Max found herself staring out the window of Chloe’s truck as the older girl drove. Chloe had insisted on Max wearing shorts and a tank top to the rave for reasons unknown to her, but she soon would found out she would be amongst the few people attending that were wearing more clothing than absolutely necessary. Max glanced over at the Lanky girl next to her, her eyes lingering over the exposed skin of Chloe’s side and exposed bra, suddenly feeling very warm. Before she knew it the truck had come to a stop outside of a large warehouse like building and Chloe was looking at her, a smirk plastered across her face. 

“Caulfield, you do know it’s impolite to stare don’t you?” Chloe’s voice rang out, dripping with her snarky charm. 

Max’s face flushed as she tore her gaze away from the taller girl, the blush extending down her neck as Max shifted in her seat before looking up at the building in front of them and then scanning the other cars parked in the area. Chloe broke the silence again with the laugh as she opened her car door.

“I know, I’m pretty irresistible” She added with a wink before sliding out of the truck and slamming the door shut behind her. She rounded the front of the truck and opened the passenger side door for Max, who slid out hesitantly. Moments later they made their way toward the poorly contained booming EDM style music, Chloe paid the door man and led Max inside and down a thin hallway. It opened up in a huge warehouse space full of moving, sweaty, and hardly dressed bodies. The blush on Max’s face only grew and she suddenly was thankful for the low lighting in the building. 

Chloe pressed herself closer to Max and spoke into her ear “I’m gonna go grab a drink? You want anything?” 

All Max could do was shake her head and attempt to get a hold on her overwhelmed senses. Chloe yelled over the music what Max could only have assumed was something along the lines of ‘I’ll be right back’ before finding herself standing alone. Max scanned the sea of neon stretched out in front of her and began to realize that she may have gotten herself in over her head. By the time Chloe returned it felt like an eternity had past, if you could consider 15 minutes to be an eternity that is. Chloe passed her a drink before taking a sip out of her own and then attempting to shout over the booming music.

“Sorry it took me so long, a girl at the bar slipped me her number and then paid for some drinks for us. Can’t turn down a free drink right?” Chloe smirked and nudged Max lightly with her elbow.

Max took a sip of the drink and was suddenly grateful to have something to calm her nerves and to drown the pang of jealousy she felt at the thought of a girl at the bar flirting with Chloe. Max couldn’t help but think about how much cooler the girl must have been in comparison to her and if Chloe had found her attractive or not. She quickly began to work on the drink in her hand at the thought. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Quite some time later Max’s drinking had tapered off and she was starting to level out once more despite a few lingering effects. Chloe on the other hand was a very different story. Multiple drinks in by now Chloe had been drunkenly mingling for quite some time. Much to Max’s displeasure she was also doing a painful amount of flirting, even having gotten 4 to 5 phone numbers and dancing with another girl while Max had gone to get her another drink. Max had nearly had enough and decided to go take a breather and splash some water on her face. Weaving her way through the crowd she attempted to make it to the bathroom, bumping into someone along the way. 

“Oh dog! I’m so sorry” She blurted out as she was met by snow white teeth and a charming smile.

“No harm no foul!” He said before adding “Didn’t spill my drink so I have nothing to complain about” 

Max studied him for a moment, his shaggy blonde hair and soft brown eyes paired with that smile made him seem oddly inviting. 

“So surely a girl like you isn’t here alone? Here with friends?” The boy asked snapping Max out of her daze.

“Like…..Me?” Max questioned glancing back to look at Chloe before looking back at the boy only to see his smile grow wider. 

“Sorry, I meant that I couldn’t see a girl as cute as you here alone.” He spoke with unwavering confidence.

“Oh… I um…” Max glanced back in Chloe’s direction, only to see she was no longer there. She swallowed down the lump she felt forming in her throat and nodded slightly “I- I’m here with a friend” She glanced around quickly trying to set her sights on Chloe as she grew increasingly uncomfortable and nervous. When she turned back to the man in front of her he was closer than before. 

“So…wanna dance?” He asked with a wide grin. 

“I um…” Max began to stammer before being cut off by a pair of arms wrapping their way maybe a little to lowly around her hips causing her to tense up. A familiar silky smooth voice speaking up from just behind her ear. 

“Sorry bud, but she’s taken” The voice spoke.

Max quickly recognized it as Chloe and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. The man looked at them with disbelief, an eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms. However, his domineer quickly changed as Chloe very convincingly kissed along Max’s jawline to her neck before peppering it with a few more kisses. By the time she had finished he had rolled his eyes and sauntered away. Max felt extremely weak in the knees and short of breath as her heart raced. Max once again thought about how there surely must be something more to this than friendship, or she hoped anyway.

Chloe released her and let out a chuckle “Did you see that guys face?!” She spat before attempting a poor impression of it and laughing again. The kind of light hearted laugh that Max wanted to smile at.

“Chloe what the hell was that about?” Max asked with disbelief and a weird sense of anger after having watched Chloe with other girls all night. 

Chloe didn’t answer, instead snaking her arm around Max’s hips again with a toothy grin not unlike a shark “Dance with me Max” She said in that flirtatious tone that sometimes made Max feel as though she was drowning. Her glazed ocean blue eyes looked down at her an intensity that made Max feel like she was about to be eaten alive. 

“Chloe I can’t da-“ Max started only to be cut off by Chloe pressing a finger gently against her lips signaling that she wouldn't take no for an answer. Max suddenly felt her mouth go dry and couldn’t help but agree, giving Chloe a light nod. 

Chloe’s smirk only grew as she took Max’s hand and led her farther into the crowd. At first it started off as Chloe guiding Max in a light hearted flurry of movement not unlike what she had experienced in Chloe’s room just last week, but over time Chloe began closing the distance between the two of them. What had previously been goofy dancing turned into Chloe grinding on Max. Max felt lost in the moment and unsure of what to do. However, the longer Chloe continued this, the more Max found herself enjoying it. This continued for some time, Chloe’s hands occasionally lingering over Max’s skin in ways that made Max feel like she was on fire. Although it seemed to go on for an eternity yet somehow still too soon, Chloe finally pulled away and spoke.

“Hey, you wanna get out of her?” She asked and Max nodded slightly in response to avoid attempting to yell over the booming music. 

Chloe took her hand and led her though the crowd stumbling often and making Max wonder just how drunk she was. Once back at the truck Chloe dropped her keys and Max decided it would be best if she drove them back to the hotel. On the drive back a very intoxicated Chloe curled up on the bench seat using Max’s thigh as a pillow. Max had been sure she was asleep until she felt her hand move to lightly squeeze her knee, lightly running her thumb in circles. 

“Well someone is feeling a little affectionate all of the sudden” Max said jokingly.

“Mhm” Chloe hummed back before speaking “I wanna be a lot more than a little affectionate right now” Chloe muttered, somewhat under her breath, making Max wonder if she was supposed to hear it or not. Regardless Max felt her face flush a bright red once again. They sat in silence for the majority of the ride from then on, Chloe never ceasing her actions.

Once back at the hotel the two of them sat down to watch some shitty TV until they had wound down from the night. Chloe seemed restless and continued to find ways to brush up against Max, rather she was grabbing the remote or simply brushing her hand against her for seemly no reason.

“You’re pretty touchy tonight aren’t you?” Max stated as she started to get mildly annoyed by the whole thing.

“Hm and since when is that a problem Maximus?” Chloe asked in a thick tone.

“You’re so drunk still” Max stated with a somewhat annoyed sigh.

“That doesn’t change anything” Chloe responded and Max couldn’t quite put a finger on what she had meant. Chloe moved her hand from her lap back to Max’s knee and gave it a light squeeze. 

“Alright Che I get it, but I’m not really in the cuddly mood right now” Max responded with a light sigh.

“Are you pissed off at me?” Chloe asked only for Max to shake her head “Then what’s your problem?” She asked with a little more bite to her tone than she had meant.

Thinking back on the majority of the night watching Chloe with all those other girls Max realized that she was harboring more anger than she would have liked to admit, but the tone in Chloe’s voice struck a chord somewhere in her. 

“Maybe I’m just not feeling all that affectionate after watching you flirt all night with random people” Max said flatly, but she should have known better since Chloe was drunk.

“Oh so you’re pissed off because I talked to other people and was trying to get to know people in the area? Which is what the original point of going was.” Chloe retorted. “Besides that’s bullshit. It’s not like I fucking made out with them we just talked.” Chloe added.

Max scoffed “Oh but you wanted to make out with them didn’t you? Probably would have if I wasn’t around?” Max said standing up now and putting a flannel on over her tank top.

Chloe shot daggers at Max “You know I’m not like that”

"Do I Che? Because you've told me a lot of stories that might make me think otherwise." Max sighed and realized that that had been somewhat of a low blow. She knew this was a stupid thing to fight about, but that pang of jealousy had sunk its teeth into her. She knew she needed to stop taking it out on Chloe when Chloe had done nothing wrong. Chloe was technically nothing more than her best friend in most cases. “I’m going for a walk” Max spat out quickly and made a break for the door. Chloe was on her feet in a flash, stumbling slightly.

“Max you can’t just leave. You don’t even know where the fuck we are out here” Chloe said quickly walking toward her.

“I’ll be fine” she said mostly to convince herself as she reached for the door handle. Before she could get the door open she was spun around and pinned to the wall. Chloe held her hand pressed against the wall above her and her hand on the other side of Max trapping her in. Although the transition was somewhat rough, it didn’t really cause her any pain. Before she even had time to respond she could see the horror on Chloe’s face. 

“Oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean-“ She stopped taking her hand away from Max’s “I just panicked I- I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Chloe pressed forward and wrapped one arm around Max’s waist and slid the other behind her back to grab a fistful of her flannel. “Please just don’t leave me alone” Chloe begged with her face buried in Max’s neck. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.” She added, slightly muffled by Max’s skin.

Max felt like a monster as she heard a choked sob Chloe let out into her neck and quickly wrapped her arms around her best friend. She wondered how she could have been so stupid not to think about how leaving Chloe alone would have affected her because she was caught up in her own idiotic jealousy. She had no right to be mad at Chloe or pick a fight over such a pointless thing. Max didn’t even feel like herself as she thought about how she had acted. For Christ sake Chloe was just trying to show her affection, affection that Max so dearly wanted as it was. The way she had acted was out of character for her and she wished she hadn’t let herself fall to that. “God Chloe I’m so sorry. This was so stupid I don’t know what I was thinking. You didn’t even do anything wrong” She finally spoke as she pulled Chloe in tighter. Max had started to cry now, emotions set off by being the cause of her best friends pain. “I was just jealous okay? I just wanted to spend more time with you, but I can’t talk to people like you do. I get scared. There was just so many people.” Max added. Chloe had calmed herself now and had moved her head to look at Max.

“God I think I’m starting to rub off on you” Chloe said with a light chuckle followed by a light sniff from the short bit of crying “It’s my job to get jealous over stuff like that Caulfield” Chloe said before squeezing her slightly tighter before moving to brush Max’s hair out of her face and wipe some tears off her cheek. 

Max chuckled slightly and wiped her face with the sleeve of her flannel. She sniffed slightly “How are you not mad at me for being such an ass?” She squeaked out.

Chloe smiled slightly and pressed a soft kiss onto her forehead “Well for one thing it wasn’t really that bad, we’ve had worse fights because of my moody ass” Chloe said trying to cheer Max up. Chloe had started more than enough fights over the years over pointless things and jealousy. Like the week prior when she had tried to keep Max from answering the phone call from Kate. Both girls emotions had been wrecked over the last week. “Another thing Mad Max is that you’re pretty sexy when you’re angry” Chloe said with a grin as she wiggled her eyebrows.

Max chuckled slightly and rolled her eyes before pulling the older girl back into a tight hug. Chloe tucked her head back into Max’s neck, her hot breath making Max shiver. The hug lingered between the two of them and Chloe couldn’t seem help herself. She pressed a light kiss onto the younger girl’s neck, followed by another. She could feel Max’s breath catch, but Chloe thought better of it. She was still a little too intoxicated and this was no time to make a move on Max. Chloe pulled back and gave Max a smile. 

“Alright, I think we should probably call it a night. I need to sleep off this booze.” Chloe said before she walked back to the bed and flopped down with an exaggerated thud. 

Max chuckled and followed suit, curling up under the blankets next to her best friend. The two settled in next to each other and turned out the lights. Sleep took them soon afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always please leave me some feedback or let me know if any corrections need to be made. Also let me know if there is anything you guys would like to see in this fic in the future. It really means a lot to me that you guys would take the time out of your schedules to read my first ever public work and those of you I have heard from have been so kind to me. I hope you guys have enjoyed it so far and will stay tuned for future chapters.

**Author's Note:**

> Well I hope at least some of you enjoyed it and I'm going to have the next chapter posted very soon. The upcoming chapter will hopefully be more interesting. Thanks for reading! Feedback, Kudos, and comments are appreciated!


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